Mixed English Questions for Mains Exam — Set 232

Directions(1-8): In the following passage, there are blanks, each followed by a word given in bold. Every blank has four alternative words given in options (A), (B), (C) and (D). Find the word which best suits the place. If the given word suits the blank, mark ‘no correction/change required’ as the answer.

1. Saudi Arabia will remove its ban on internet phone calls a government spokesman said, in a bid to (1) [extant] online business as the kingdom looks to boost non-oil revenue. All online voice and video call services such as Microsoft’s Skype and Facebook’s WhatsApp that satisfy regulatory requirements will become (2) [incommensurable] at midnight (2100 GMT), Adel Abu Hameed, spokesman for the telecoms regulator CITC said on Twitter on Wednesday. Voice and video calling apps such as WhatsApp and Skype will be “widely available to users”, a government statement said on Tuesday, in a move aimed at (3) [Lenifying] business confidence as the kingdom (4) [Transitions] into a post-oil era. “Access to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) will reduce operational costs and (5) [Stress] digital entrepreneurship,” the statement said, citing a directive from the communications and technology ministry. Asked if the apps could be monitored by the authorities or companies, he said: “Under no circumstances can the user use an application for video or voice calling without (6) [Aggrandizing] and censorship by the Communications and Information Technology Commission, whether the application is global or local. ”Saudi Arabia, which introduced blocks to internet communications from 2013, along with its Gulf Arab neighbours have been (7) [wary] that such services could be used by activists and (8) [opposers].

   Find the appropriate word in each case.
   

   expunge
   inculpate
   stimulate
   rampant
   No change required
   Option C
   The word ‘expunge’ means ‘remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line’ .
   The word ‘stimulate’ means ‘to accelerate’.
   The word ‘inculpate’ means ‘suggest that someone is guilty’ .
   The word ‘rampant’ is an adjective and means ‘(especially of something unwelcome) flourishing or spreading unchecked’.

    

2. accessible
   flagrant
   fortuitous
   Both A and C
   No change required
   Option A
   The word ‘incommensurable’ means ‘impossible to measure or compare in value or size or excellence’.
   The word ‘flagrant’ means ‘conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible’.
   The word ‘fortuitous’ means ‘occurring by happy chance’.

    

3. impinging
   boosting
   imputing
   Both A and C
   No change required
   Option B
   The word ‘lenifying’ means ‘to alleviate’.
   The word ‘impinging’ which means ‘to infringe upon’ .
   The word ‘imputing’ means ‘attributing or crediting to’ .

    

4. Longueur
   Knell
   Modifications
   Maelstrom
   No change required
   Option E
   The word ‘longueur’ means ‘period of dullness or boredom’.
   The word ‘knell’ means ‘(of a bell) ring solemnly, especially for a death or funeral’ .
   The word ‘maelstrom’ means ‘a powerful circular current of water’ .

    

5. Morass
   Loupe
   Spur
   Obfuscate
   No change required
   Option C
   The word ‘morass’ means ‘a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot’ .
   The word ‘loupe’ means ‘a small magnifying glass used by jewellers and watchmakers’.
   The word ‘spur’ means ‘encourage’ .
   The word ‘obfuscate’ means ‘to make something unclear’ .

    

6. litigating
   instigating
   Both A and B
   monitoring
   No change required
   Option D
   The word ‘aggrandizing’ means ‘increasing the power, status, or wealth of’.
   The word ‘litigating’ means ‘resorting to legal action to settle a matter; be involved in a lawsuit’

    

7. fatuous
   inane
   cyprian
   daedal
   No change required
   Option E
   The word ‘wary’ means ‘feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems’ .
   The word ‘fatuous’ means ‘silly and pointless’.
   The word ‘Inane’ means ‘devoid of intelligence’ .
   The word ‘cyprian’ means ‘resembling the ancient orgiastic worship of Aphrodite on Cyprus’.
   The word ‘daedal’ means ‘complex and ingenious in design or function’ .

    

8. Davits
   Militants
   Decolletes
   Incumbents
   No change required
   Option B
   The word ‘militants’ means ‘activists or extremists’.
   The word ‘davits’ means ‘crane-like devices for suspending or lowering equipment’.
   The word ‘decolletes’ means ‘dresses having a low neckline’.
   The word ‘incumbents’ means ‘the holders of an office or post’

    

Directions(9-10): In the given questions, a part of the sentence is printed in bold. Below the sentence alternatives to the bold part are given at (A), (B), (C) and (D) which may help improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case the given sentence is correct, your answer is (E), i.e., ‘No correction required’.

9. A Scituate woman (was cited back for negligent) operation of a motor vehicle after she drove her car onto several vehicles on Monday, police say.
   
   is cited for negligence
   was cited back for negligence
   is cited back for negligent
   was cited for negligent
   No correction required
   Option D
   ‘Cited back’ is redundant. Cite means refer to something as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement. Refer is a synonym of cite. ‘Refer back’ is redundant, since the prefix re- means ‘back.’

    

10. The voice that decries those who “battered the flash and blood of the inarticulate and the submerged” unambiguously express authorial values.
    
    batter down
    batten on
    batten down
    battern on
    No correction required
    Option B
    “Batten on” which means to have a comfortable life or become successful by using or getting someone else’s money in an unfair way.
    Option A) Batter down means to hit a door or wall very hard, many times until it breaks and falls down. It also means that If you batter down someone’s opposition you make them stop being opposed to something.
    Option C) Batten down means to firmly fasten a window, door, or entrance, in order to prevent damage from strong winds.
    Batter means to strike repeatedly with hard blows; censure, criticize, or defeat severely or thoroughly.